Self-acupressure for Insomnia

Abstract Objectives: To explore the clinical effects of self-acupressure for treating insomnia delivered by a training course. Hypothesis: Subjects who have participated in the self-acupressure training course will have greater improvement in insomnia symptoms and daytime impairment than the sleep hygiene education control group at 4 and 8 weeks. Design and subjects: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Subjects with insomnia will be recruited from the community. 30 subjects will be randomized to self-acupressure and sleep hygiene education control groups in a 1: 1 ratio. Study instrument: Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) will be used to assess insomnia symptoms and daytime impairment. Interventions: Subjects in the self-acupressure group will attend two training sessions to learn self-acupressure and will practice self-acupressure every night for 4 weeks; subjects in the sleep hygiene education control group will receive two training sessions to learn sleep hygiene practice. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome measure is the ISI score. Other measures include sleep parameters using subjective sleep diary, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and SF-6D at 4 and 8 weeks. Acceptability and sustainability of self-acupressure will also be evaluated. Data Analysis: Differences in the questionnaire scores, subjective sleep parameters will be examined using a mixed-effects model.